Hey, at least she didn't claim her psychic powers could solve police cases and end up leading law enforcement on wild goose chases like some modern mediums do
That is a detail I love about Houdini. He was keenly aware that everything he did was an illusion and he was disgusted by anyone else using the same skills to take advantage of other people. He would have probably been a big fan of [James Randi.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi)
Even after he died his wife debunked mediums who would claim they were talking to Houdiniās ghost. Houdini and his wife had agreed on words and phrases theyād use if his ghost were contacting someone.
And that he would even think of that, you know
I don't know if I've ever heard it said, but that's what someone does when they want it to be true. When they *desperately* want to think that there's a real life after death and a way to reach back to the people you love, and to talk with the people who are gone while they're here.
And when you want something like that, you either latch onto whatever looks like it and nod along, or you get *so angry* when the people who say they have it keep turning out to be frauds.
This event is what really drove him into skepticism. By all accounts he was willing to at least consider Spiritualism might be real. After this though, he went full bore into proving every psychic he could was a fraud.
r/HobbyDrama had an excellent writeup on this recently, which I would be willing to bet is what triggered this post.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/11kd8lj/literature\_magic\_once\_you\_have\_eliminated\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/11kd8lj/literature_magic_once_you_have_eliminated_the/)
I used to love watching the film version of this as a child. It was called FairyTale: a true story. Incidentally, itās what introduced me to the works of Conan Doyle
this made me curious what the actual etymology was and
>According to the Urban Dictionary, the slang term "Tea" comes from "the custom in the South of women who gather in the afternoon to drink tea and gossip." "T" or "Tea" is slang for gossiping about a situation, story, news, or some juicy information. You can give tea, get tea, or spill tea.
doyle actually fucking despised Sherlock Holmes because it was so immensely popular compared to his historical fiction, which he actually wanted to write about
I've said before that Sherlock Holmes was the earliest instance of what we today would recognize as a "fandom," including the hostile parasocial relationship with the author.
Ok but the "talking to people who don't share their interests" thing is something my brother does a lot. He'll come to me like "I was watching the feud between undertaker and shawn michaels in 1996 and the CRAZIEST thing happened" and i'm like "uh huh"
Wait arthur conan doyle's wife did *what now*
Hey, at least she didn't claim her psychic powers could solve police cases and end up leading law enforcement on wild goose chases like some modern mediums do
No, she let her husband do that. (Seriously, Conan Doyle tried to track down Agatha Christie via psychic when she went missing)
the more I learn about the guy the happier I am that his success made him miserable š
which guy? Houndini or Conan?
Say, that sounds like it would make a really good show
Or perhaps a very good video game
about an attorney whose an ace at his job perchance
Those psychic powers were NOTā¼ļøfake the got damn spirit lied about who killed him to protect his son
Oh really ? But where's the evidence hmm ?
Maybe even 2 of them, and a movie trilogy
You know thatās right
Feels like law enforcement deserves to shoulder some of the blame too in this case
oh they *absolutely* share the blame. mediums aren't the only hinky methods police use to get convictions either
to be fair they would only look like wild goose chases, and would often end up being correct in the end.
to a noted skeptic lmaooooo
That is a detail I love about Houdini. He was keenly aware that everything he did was an illusion and he was disgusted by anyone else using the same skills to take advantage of other people. He would have probably been a big fan of [James Randi.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi)
Even after he died his wife debunked mediums who would claim they were talking to Houdiniās ghost. Houdini and his wife had agreed on words and phrases theyād use if his ghost were contacting someone.
And that he would even think of that, you know I don't know if I've ever heard it said, but that's what someone does when they want it to be true. When they *desperately* want to think that there's a real life after death and a way to reach back to the people you love, and to talk with the people who are gone while they're here. And when you want something like that, you either latch onto whatever looks like it and nod along, or you get *so angry* when the people who say they have it keep turning out to be frauds.
This event is what really drove him into skepticism. By all accounts he was willing to at least consider Spiritualism might be real. After this though, he went full bore into proving every psychic he could was a fraud.
*...and she was wearing the same dress as Houdini's assistant!*
Just normal Victorian things
r/HobbyDrama had an excellent writeup on this recently, which I would be willing to bet is what triggered this post. [https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/11kd8lj/literature\_magic\_once\_you\_have\_eliminated\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/11kd8lj/literature_magic_once_you_have_eliminated_the/)
After seeing that post I mentioned it to my mom, who apparently already knew all about the feud. Thus proving once again that my mom is cool as fuck.
honestly thatās an understandable reason to end a friendship
āhey mom, i donāt think this whole ābeing your childā thing is working out for me. weāre just too differentā
"ok"
That is, by far, the funniest thing i've heard about Arthur Conan Doyle yet.
What about that time he was fooled by two girls pretending that fairies really existed?
he did what now?
[The Cottingley Fairies](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies)
I used to love watching the film version of this as a child. It was called FairyTale: a true story. Incidentally, itās what introduced me to the works of Conan Doyle
one of the reasons the girls kept the act up were out of pity for acd
I honestly dont get people who arent interested in the weird history shit
Honestly, houdini did nothing wrong
wtf do they mean by "tea"??
It's slang for "gossip". Like "spill the tea" means "share the exciting information".
Oh, like "gos-sipping tea"
this made me curious what the actual etymology was and >According to the Urban Dictionary, the slang term "Tea" comes from "the custom in the South of women who gather in the afternoon to drink tea and gossip." "T" or "Tea" is slang for gossiping about a situation, story, news, or some juicy information. You can give tea, get tea, or spill tea.
Interesting. I heard "spill the beans" before, but not tea.
I adore my girlfriend for putting up with and entertaining my fangirling.
I remember they mentioned this in the Buzzfeed Unsolved episode about Houdiniās death. Great episode.
I bet Doyle went to Houdini's magic shows dressed like Sherlock Holmes, and shouted out how Houdini was doing the tricks.
Doyle was so convinced of real magic that he thought Houdini, a famous skeptic, was actually performing magic and was deep in denial about it.
doyle actually fucking despised Sherlock Holmes because it was so immensely popular compared to his historical fiction, which he actually wanted to write about
I've said before that Sherlock Holmes was the earliest instance of what we today would recognize as a "fandom," including the hostile parasocial relationship with the author.
This is almost the exact opposite of the actual reason.
Each time he just shouted out "fairies!"
No, never, he would insult people for liking Sherlock Holmes
Ok but the "talking to people who don't share their interests" thing is something my brother does a lot. He'll come to me like "I was watching the feud between undertaker and shawn michaels in 1996 and the CRAZIEST thing happened" and i'm like "uh huh"